With another new year in full swing, the clock resets and more money-making opportunities present themselves. Unfortunately, there are an equivalent number of paths that lead to failure, often due to either shifting trends or an entrepreneur missing the focus of where the market is heading. Most people only get one shot to make their mark with a defining business, so choosing the right one is important.
As a serial entrepreneur, I've been involved with many of the hot emerging markets in recent years -- most notably, the mobile app market, where I was able to drive over 18 million downloads in about two years. Living in San Francisco gives me unique access to the leading technologies and companies that are pioneering these revolutions. I make a point to have lunch with at least three people each week to get a pulse on what's happening.
Outlined below are the top five tech opportunities that have surfaced in 2016 and why I think they would each make a great avenue for a startup.
3D Printing Services
A few years ago, the term “3D Printing” evoked confusion and more questions than answers. Fast forward a few years to 2016, and you are greeted with a completely different set of responses. 3D printers have made themselves a major part of the production and medical industries. They are able to print using almost any material, including carbon fiber and some bio-materials.
Although the market has plenty of 3D printers, most are in private industries or universities that don’t offer a market influence. Starting a business that offers custom 3D printing jobs or specialized replacement parts that can be readily made as a cheap alternative to conventional store resources will provide a large market share and greatly alter the current standard of product progression in the manufacturing process.
The medical sector needs this technology. Organ donors are generally in short supply, but 3D printing a heart or other organ for a patient can be done at the click of a button, which could prove highly profitable. Likewise, printing on-demand parts could prove equally lucrative in the coming years.
Drones
In 2016, drones will continue to become more popular due to the recent publicity and continually increasing sales through the year. Drones were one of the top items this past holiday season, and every indication shows that the trend will continue to rise. Whether you want to go into retail or production, you are sure to hit a wave of popularity with buyers.
Drones offer many different areas of specialty and DIY build platforms. They can be used for racing, photography and videography and casual flying, both indoor and out. It’s because of this ability to appeal to everybody that other forms of the RC hobby are growing in popularity, like flying planes and helicopters. A simple search will show that not everyone is satisfied with the models on the market right now, so any attempt to satisfy those cravings for the “perfect” model will be met with happy, well-paying customers.
Either way, if you approach a startup business centered on RC drones, you can count on having a foot in the right direction.
Wearable Technology
For so long, designing and manufacturing a cutting edge smartphone was the primary focus of technology companies, because that's what the consumers desired. Now, with all the variations of phones on the market, consumers want something to accompany and enhance the functionality of that smartphone.
Smart watches, earpieces, and glassware will soon show themselves as frontrunners in the technology race. Getting ahead of this trend and starting a business designing the very best wearable technology that compensates for the downfalls of a smartphone is smart.
Producing early also would put you one step ahead in marketing and receiving customer feedback for improvements. It is almost unheard of for a product to be “market ready” straight out of the design process. So producing prototypes that can be distributed to designated users for feedback will allow you to have a refined model when competitors produce their first rendition of the same item.
Virtual Reality
Virtual reality is something that everyone wants to try, but almost no one has access to yet. Sure, there are small areas scattered across the world that have immersive virtual reality experiences, but this technology isn’t available to the masses.
Investing your time and money into a business that makes this existing technology available for all to use provides the building blocks for a very successful endeavor. Virtual reality is enticing to the general public because it gives them the ability to do something that they ordinarily wouldn’t be able to do. Whether it's to tour a landmark in another country or live out their favorite video game, everyone is bound to find something they will enjoy about virtual reality. Even Mark Zuckerberg has publicly stated his support for VR (and marked it as a leading initiative for
Although the technology behind virtual reality is continually advancing to include more of the human senses into the experience, most would be happy with the current technology available, so distributing that could turn into a very favorable and successful company.
Cybersecurity
The current push to have most computer and network storage be cloud-based comes with its own concerns and dangers. Cloud-based servers and storage are a prime target for hackers and identity thieves.
Having your personal information stored on the Internet, no matter how secure the server might seem, poses its risks. This is where a business specializing in cybersecurity has a large impact. Cybersecurity is rising to a level of importance, but not as quickly as the push for non-local storage.
Having a specialized business that can strengthen and eliminate the chances of a hacker breaking a server, or even having a security program that you can offer to users to protect their local storage from external access can make a huge impact and firmly establish your startup as a business.
